Coach Thach Bao Khanh called on U23 Vietnam to eliminate unnecessary movements

– Yesterday, Vietnam ended the group stage with a 0-3 loss to Uzbekistan. Part of the reason is that coach Hoang Anh Tuan only uses the second squad. What do you think about this choice?

– I think the coaching staff’s calculations are reasonable. Both Vietnam and Uzbekistan have entered the quarterfinals. The match between the two teams is only to determine the first place, to determine which opponent will meet in the next round.

Uzbekistan is very strong, having won the championship in 2018 and then runner-up in 2022. Even if they try their best to take first place, Vietnam may not have a chance. Therefore, coach Hoang Anh Tuan’s use of the second squad is a wise calculation. Firstly, we create playing conditions for players who have rarely played before, accumulate experience, and be in good condition so that when they come on the field they can adapt immediately. Second, we can preserve our force, avoid losing pillars due to injury, penalty cards or falling into a state of overload. In the second half, coach Hoang Anh Tuan brought a number of quality players onto the field and played gently to prepare for the next match.

Ranking second in the table may be a reasonable choice. I think meeting Iraq in the quarterfinals is probably a bit lighter than Saudi Arabia. We can see that Saudi Arabia showed outstanding strength in the first two matches, winning 4-2 against Tajikistan and 5-0 against Thailand. They soon entered the quarterfinals, so the final match against Iraq only used the reserve squad, lost and fell to second place. It seems that this team is very confident, they do not choose opponents so they deploy their troops and recuperate.

Saudi Arabia is the defending champion, meeting a team like that, Vietnamese players will suffer psychologically. As for Iraq, we have met many times, from the time of coach Park Hang-seo to coach Philippe Troussier. In those matches, Vietnam did not play too badly, so they felt more comfortable and easier to play.

– After three group stage matches, what do you think U23 Vietnam needs to improve?

– The more the players play, the more confident they become and the better they play. But clearly the team still has many areas to improve. The first is the ability to organize defense. The past three matches have shown that Vietnam’s defense system still has many gaps. Defenders do well in situations where the opponent hits directly, or hooks the ball in. However, when teams constantly exchange positions, with some people holding the ball, like the recent match against Uzbekistan, we are in trouble and can easily break.

Iraq is a strong opponent, with diverse attacks. Vietnam needs to concentrate for the whole 90 minutes.

In the attack phase, Vietnam also has many points that need to be overcome. The team can hold the ball and deploy it in the home third and the middle third of the field, but in the last third the opponent’s field is deadlocked. At this decisive space, Vietnamese players did not exchange positions with each other many and continuously, leading to not creating much space behind the opponent. In particular, we have not been able to hit the gap between the center back and the full back.

When attacking in one-third of the opponent’s field, Vietnam also lost the ball a lot. The reason is that the players do not play well when switching positions. For example, when the outside midfielder plays inside, he must take on the role of central midfielder. And vice versa too. It seemed like they weren’t used to the new position when swapping, so they were confused and often lost the ball.

In the quarterfinals against Iraq, the opponent is stronger, we have to play defensive counter-attack. To be effective, the team must switch from defense to attack very quickly. I haven’t seen much of this in the three group stage matches. To counterattack effectively, we must be quick, not allowing the opponent to retreat. If you want to do that, you must practice so that three to four passes or just 10 seconds can reach the opponent’s goal to have a chance to score.

– In your opinion, which playing style should Vietnam choose to play against Iraq?

– Defense – counterattack is still the best choice right now. Of course, it’s not like the whole match is all about defense, or playing negative defense. The team still has to control the ball and actively attack, but only at the right time.

The level of Vietnamese players is uneven. In the Asian playground, there are many strong opponents. Therefore, playing attacking possession of the ball is very difficult. We have to choose our playing style based on the players available. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan has the expertise and experience to find the most suitable playing style, but what is important is how the players will perform, because they are the ones playing on the field.

– Is there anything else you want to convey to coach Hoang Anh Tuan’s students?

– Vietnamese players need to keep a cool head and eliminate unnecessary movements. This tournament has VAR, the risk of receiving a red card from “extra limbs” situations is very high. From the beginning of the tournament, many teams had to pay a heavy price because of this. Even in the match against Uzbekistan, Duc Viet also had an unnecessary elbow situation in the middle of the field. Luckily, after checking VAR, the referee only showed a yellow card. Must keep cool heads, focus on playing football. Otherwise, losing people will push the team into countless difficulties.

We all know Iraq is stronger. But no one can predict youth football, so feel free to play football. Who knows, one fine day, the Iraqi players will make a few mistakes, mentally and we will make it happen. Lack of stability is a characteristic of youth football. Like Thailand, they played very well and were incredibly mature in their opening match against Iraq, but then played like a different team against Saudi Arabia and Tajikistan and were eliminated.

Lam Tho